


Tears of a Dragon

by wyvernlordminerva



Series: ShiroSieg Week 2k16 [5]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Angst, Deeprealms, Draconic Rage, Kamui!Shiro, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-09
Updated: 2016-06-09
Packaged: 2018-07-13 22:56:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7141508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wyvernlordminerva/pseuds/wyvernlordminerva
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shiro had made a lot of mistakes in his lifetime, but he would give anything just for the chance to fix this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tears of a Dragon

As a general rule, leaving your child unsupervised in a random dimension was a bad idea. Not that his parents had particularly cared, shoving him and his younger brother, Kana, away in the Deeprealms without a second thought, so Shiro didn’t feel too guilty when he waltzed right through the wormhole and left. There was a whole world out there, waiting to be discovered, if only he could find it.

“Ugh, not this again!” he groaned, having stumbled across yet _another_ Deeprealm. There had to be thousands of them; no wonder his parents never bothered visiting! With a sigh, he ran his fingers through the air and over the ground, trying to find the tear he’d stumbled through.

A shuffling noise sounded from the woods, quiet enough to be dismissed as the wind. The wind wasn’t blowing, however, and Shiro griped his naginata a little tighter. Getting mauled by a bear would ruin the fun of reckless rebellion. The leaves rustled again and he whipped around, ready to fight.

“Show yourself!” he shouted, feeling pretty stupid when he got no response. Of course it wouldn’t respond if it were an animal, and who would just reveal themselves if it were an ambush? Just as he relaxed his grip, a figure slowly emerged from the woods, approaching him tentatively.

Shiro was distantly reminded of a time when he was younger, playing outside, as he usually did, and he stumbled across a rather angry-looking snake. He screamed and his mother rushed to his rescue, as graceful as ever as she moved it to a safer habitat. As he stared at the boy before him, decked in armor and a sword at his side, her words echoed in his head: “Shiro, it’s more scared of you than you are of it.” He lowered his naginata, straightening his back and eyeing him carefully.

“Who’re you?” he said. 

“I should be the one asking that question.” the boy said, “You’re not from around here.” Shiro flinched.

“H-how do you know for sure? Maybe I’ve just been hidden!” 

“I’m the only person in this Deeprealm. Well, and Father, occasionally, and some other servants…” Shiro blinked. _Father_?

“Y-you’re like me!” he said, “You’ve been abandoned, too!” The other boy grimaced.

“I wouldn’t say ‘abandoned’. Father is a very important person and has responsibilities outside of myself-” Shiro cut him off by throwing his arm around his shoulders and laughing.

“Dude, that’s incredible! You should come with me!” he said. “There’s like, so much out there, man!” The other boy shook out of his grip, stumbling back.

“Come with you? Y-you mean… leave?”

“Yeah, of course! You don’t really want to stay here, do you?” He went silent for a moment, looking away.

“…Father would be disappointed…” he mumbled. Shiro frowned and turned back to his work.

“Fine. Don’t come. Just sit here wasting away for someone who doesn’t even care…” he said as he ran his fingers through the dirt. “Where _is_ this thing?”

“What are you doing?”

“There’s an opening here somewhere… Aha! No, wait, that’s a rock…” He huffed and leaned back on his knees. The other boy sat next to him, staring at the place he’d been searching.

“Do you need help?” he asked. Shiro shook his head.

“Maybe I’ll take a break for now. I’ve been dimension-hopping all day.” he said, standing back up and brushing the dirt off of his pants. Belatedly, he realized he hadn’t brought anything to camp with. 

“You can stay with me.” the boy offered, smiling shyly. Shiro couldn’t refuse.

* * *

The boy’s name was Siegbert, as he’d discovered, and he was a prince of Nohr, whatever that was. He had a decently-sized home at the edge of the Deeprealm, sparsely decorated but still fairly comfortable. When Siegbert had asked him where he was from, he wasn’t sure how to respond. Another proof of how little his father cared for him, he was certain.

“I’m just Shiro,” he said. Siegbert had given him a long look.

“You certainly don’t look Nohrian,” he said, “but I figure Father would’ve mentioned if Hoshidans had fangs.” Instinctively, Shiro’s fingers went to his teeth.

“Oh, these? They’re not important.” he said. “I got ‘em from Mom.”

“…I see.” he had mumbled, and never brought up the topic again. From that day they’d met, they became the best of friends. Shiro quickly forgot about his dimension-hopping escapades, instead spending all his time hanging out with Siegbert. They had something deeply in common, even if the other boy still believed about the people who left him for some inexplicable reason. Shiro had finally found someone to care about him, and he was happy.

And then, _they_ came.

The invisible soldiers just appeared out of nowhere one day; strange beings, fading in and out of existence and leaving nothing but destruction in their wake. Their footsteps, marching to some insane beat, echoed above the boys’ heads as they huddled together in the cellar.

“It’s okay. Father will come. Father will save us…” Siegbert mumbled under his breath. Shiro wanted to lash out, to yell that no, he wasn’t coming, and he never would, and he bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. A crash from above. They stifled a scream.

The door to the cellar fell from its hinges, smashing onto the floor in front of them as broken metal rattled against the wood. Shiro pulled Siegbert to his feet, naginata desperately pointed forward as the spirits descended upon them. They tried to fight, they really did, but they were grossly outnumbered and outmatched. A berserker knocked him to the ground in one swift moment and dragged him away, blood leaking from a gash across his head. He clawed at the floorboards, nails breaking as he reached out for Siegbert.

A soldier swung his club, a sickening crack echoing through the room. A strange anger welled up in Shiro’s chest, grasping and tearing at his insides. Siegbert collapsed and he roared. Fingers bled together into claws, wings ripping from his back as his head screamed at him to _kill them, kill them_ for what they’ve done.

He buried his teeth in the nearest enemy he could find, flinging him aside like a discarded toy. The soldiers tried to retreat, talons tearing at the air behind them as Shiro gave chase. With a swing of his tail, he swept them to the ground. A pain erupted from his back, an archer having caught him off guard. He snarled, continuing to mercilessly mutilate them undeterred.

A large crowd approached from his side, vocally abhorred by his presence. He roared again, rearing with his wings outstretched as a warning before he attacked them, too. Suddenly, they were on him, beating him down the best they could, despite the cries of “don’t hurt him!”. He flung them off, screeching in pain. 

A figure walked toward him, shaking and limping, hand outstretched. He swiped them away, ignoring their cry. A dark energy beam pierced his hide and the world went black.

* * *

Shiro groaned, head pounding and body aching. He shifted uncomfortably in his cot, wincing as he felt bandages running up and down his entire body. A hand lazily stroked through his hair, slim fingers familiar and comforting. He leaned into the touch.

“…Mom?” he choked out, voice broken and gravelly. She hushed him and covered his eyes.

“Go back to sleep. You’re safe now.” she muttered. He didn’t have much of a choice; he soon slipped away back into unconsciousness.

The next time he awoke, it was to a heated argument happening nearby.

  
“You saw what he did! You think I’m going to risk that happening again?” a voice yelled.

“Now that we know, we can prevent it. We know how to handle this.” Shiro recognized him as his father, level and commanding.

“Oh, because you clearly knew how to handle him before. That’s how he ran away without your notice.” Ryouma sucked in a breath, the other clearly having hit a nerve. “…I need to check on Siegbert.” A shuffling of fabric and the other was gone, his father letting out a shaky sigh. A chill ran down his spine at the mention of Siegbert’s name, heart suddenly pounding in his chest. All traces of exhaustion gone, Shiro sat himself up, anxiously watching the curtain cutting him off from the rest of the tent. Sure enough, his father pulled back the cloth, staring at him with concerned eyes.

“Ah, you’re awake.” he said, taking a seat next to his cot, “How are you feeling?”

“Where’s Siegbert,” Shiro asked, ignoring him completely. Ryouma frowned.

“He’s in a different tent.” He quickly grabbed his son’s shoulders to keep him from leaping out of the bed. “Focus on recovering. We have a lot to talk about.” Shiro tugged at his grip.

“Is he okay? Those… things didn’t hurt him, did they?”

“He was seriously injured,” Ryouma pushed him down again, “but it’s not them we’re worried about. Shiro, do you remember what happened when you were attacked?”

“Someone hit me and I passed out,” he said. He didn’t want to think about the inconsistency of his injuries. Ryouma shook his head and pulled a pendant out of his pocket.

“This is a dragonstone. Keep it with you at all times.” He clasped it around Shiro’s neck, his son examining it in his hand.

“What is it?”

“Your mother comes from a very ancient, powerful bloodline; that of the first dragons. Their blood runs in your veins, and if you aren’t careful, it will overtake you.” Ryouma took the stone from his hands. “This will help control it, but not perfectly.”

“What do you mean?”

“Son, when you were attacked, your dragon blood took over. You went on a rampage.” Shiro froze, memories flashing by in his head and the stench of blood filling his nose.

“I…” he started, choking on his words. A scene played over and over in his head, that figure he just couldn’t remember. Why couldn’t he remember?  
“Get some rest. You’ll feel better soon.” Ryouma said, standing to leave. “Oh, and we’re finished with the Deeprealms. Welcome to the army.” Shiro should have been ecstatic; it was what he’d always wanted. But nausea churned quietly in his stomach as he sat there, shivering.

It was a whole week until the medics finally decided to release him, his parents showing him to his tent and getting him set up. The rest of the camp avoided him instinctively, but he didn’t really care. Just so long as Siegbert was okay. His father vehemently kept them separated, stating that he might disturb Siegbert and worsen his condition. With a smirk, he snuck out in the middle of the night. He had never listened to him before, and he wasn’t about to start.

He tiptoed to Siegbert’s tent, carefully staying out of the sight of his father’s retainers, and slipped inside. He was asleep, predictably; Siegbert was always a stickler for strict schedule. He didn’t look too bad, most of his injuries having shrunk and faded aside from some wounds on his chest and his arm in a sling. With a smile, Shiro crept towards his side.

“Boo!” he said as he squeezed his shoulders. Siegbert did not scream, petrified by the red eyes and sharp teeth bearing down on him. “Siegbert?” He blinked, letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “Siegbert, it’s me.”

“Oh. Yes, of course.” he said, relaxing a little. Shiro looked concerned.

“Hey, are you alright?” he said, starting to feel sick. Never before had he seen that expression of pure terror on him, even if it had only lasted a second.

“Yes, I’m fine. Well as fine as I could be, all things considered.” he mumbled, laughing weakly.

“What happened to you?” Siegbert froze, color draining from his face. “Oh. Nevermind, then.” He already knew the answer.

“No, it was… a spear fighter. You know the ones.” he lied. It would’ve sounded fake to anyone. “H-how about you? Are you doing alright?” Shiro frowned, clutching his dragonstone.

“I’m okay.” he said, feeling worse than he had when he first woke up and half-wishing he hadn’t. Shiro had ruined a lot of things in his life, some important, some minor, but nothing quite like this. “See you later,” he said, leaving still as Siegbert tried to call him back. He took a shuddering breath and cried.


End file.
